[Avodah] Heter mechira

[Zev Sero]

Ben Waxman wrote:
>> Chametz is sold for its market value, to be assessed after Pesach.
>> If the goy wants to keep the chametz, we will hire an assessor and
>> come up with a fair price which he will pay. 

> This sounds nice but I can not see how this would work in practice. 
> Someone is going to go and collect all the contracts, go to people's 
> houses and assess the value?

Yes.  Or rather, we'll go around with a truck and collect all the
chametz, and bring in an appraiser to work out what it's worth.
That's what we agree to before Pesach.  And we'll be happy to do so,
because we have no particular attachment to the chametz, and would
be perfectly willing to get its fair value instead.

In practise we never have to actually do this, because the goy never
does want to keep the chametz; instead, after Pesach we agree to buy it
back at the assessed price plus, say, $50, and since (x + 50) - x = 50,
we no longer care what x is.

-- 
Zev Sero               Something has gone seriously awry with this Court's
zev at sero.name          interpretation of the Constitution.
                       	                          - Clarence Thomas